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COVER SUBJECT | ANGELS​—ARE THEY REAL? WHY IT MATTERS

Are There Evil Angels?

Are There Evil Angels?

Yes, there are evil angels. Where did they come from? Recall that God created angels with the gift of free will. Shortly after the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created, a perfect spirit creature abused his freedom of choice and instigated rebellion on earth. He succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to rebel against God. (Genesis 3:1-7; Revelation 12:9) The Bible does not specify what this spirit creature’s name was or what rank he held in heaven before he rebelled. But after his rebellion, the Bible appropriately calls him Satan, which means “Resister,” and the Devil, which means “Slanderer.”​—Matthew 4:8-11.

Sadly, the ungodly rebellion did not end there. In Noah’s day an unspecified number of angels “forsook their own proper dwelling place” in God’s heavenly family. They came down to the earth and took on fleshly bodies to pursue a depraved and immoral course, deviating from the purpose of their existence.​—Jude 6; Genesis 6:1-4; 1 Peter 3:19, 20.

What became of those evil angels? When God brought a global deluge to sweep the earth clean, they dematerialized and returned to the spirit realm. However, God did not permit the disgraced angels to return to “their original position.” Instead, he confined them to a debased condition of “dense [spiritual] darkness,” known as Tartarus. (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4) These demons have placed themselves under the control of Satan the Devil, “the ruler of the demons,” who “keeps disguising himself as an angel of light.”​—Matthew 12:24; 2 Corinthians 11:14.

The Bible teaches that God’s Messianic Kingdom, a heavenly government, was established in 1914. * Following that momentous event, Satan and his demons were ousted from heaven and confined to the vicinity of the earth. The rampant wickedness and gross immorality that plague our planet are evidence of their vengeful and destructive influence.​—Revelation 12:9-12.

However, the increase in depravity and shocking violence confirm that the end of their reign of terror is near. Soon, these tyrannical spirit creatures will be taken out of action. After God’s Kingdom has ruled over a paradise earth for 1,000 years, those wicked spirits will have one brief, final opportunity to test humankind. Then they will be destroyed forever.​—Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10.

^ par. 6 For more information regarding God’s Kingdom, see chapter 8 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Also available at www.jw.org.